Women in Tech to come together for WITI’s Annual Global Summit 2021

Bangalore: WITI (Women in Technology International), the leading advocate for innovation, inclusivity and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths) has announced its expansion into South Asia with a special APAC program on ‘Stories of Resilience’ during its virtual Annual Global Summit from June 22-24, 2021.

 

The keynote speakers include Ms K K Shailaja, Former Health Minister of Kerala, India and Ms. Tessy Thomas, Distinguished Scientist and Director General (Aeronautical Systems), DRDO, India, popularly known as the Missile Woman of India. The APAC sessions will focus on topics including - future of APAC women in tech, thriving in post pandemic workplace, harnessing technology to create an inclusive future, well-being and empathetic leadership, women leaders rewriting traditional views of entrepreneurship and many more.

 

“WITI’s 2021 Global Summit is the first to feature a dedicated APAC track. The designated APAC track at our Summit celebrates the growth and acceleration of WITI’s regional expansion efforts across the Asia-Pacific. We hope that by highlighting Stories of Resilience, we can shine a light on how individuals and organizations have been withstanding the challenges thrown their way, especially during these unprecedented times,” says David Leighton, President of WITI. 

 

Some of the speakers include Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson and CEO – Salesforce India, Gargi Dasgupta, Director - IBM Research/India & CTO, IBM India & South Asia, Rucha Nanavati, CIO - Mahindra Group, Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer (CTO) - Microsoft India, Aditi Banerjee, MD – Accenture India, Annie Mathew, Director, Developer Relations - Microsoft APAC, Supriya Dhanda, Country Manager - Western Digital and others.

 

“Our APAC Track at the WITI Global Summit is a huge opportunity to address the gender and seniority gap for women in tech roles. We’re excited to showcase our multifaceted approach of skill development, networking and leadership with this event and discuss what corporations and women in APAC can do to achieve gender equity. Also, we are happy to extend the Carolyn Leighton Scholarship to students in APAC, both male & female, to honour the vision of Carolyn Leighton, founder of WITI and her work in building out this global sisterhood over the last 30 years,” said Arya Murali, Vice President, WITI India.

 

The Carolyn Leighton Scholarship is extended to students in tech of all genders in the APAC region to attend the WITI APAC summit, at a 100% scholarship. The scholarship includes an opportunity to attend 3 days of the global summit, a certificate of participation in WITI’s 27th Annual Global Summit and 1-year WITI membership. Undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students who are currently enrolled in any technical university within India and the rest of APAC are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

 

Salesforce, Microsoft and Mediatek are sponsors for the APAC Track. WITI has also partnered with GiveIndia to donate 50% of all the proceeds from APAC registrations for the summit to go towards covid relief funds in India. Last year, WITI’s Global Summit witnessed participation from over 4000 women technologists from across the globe.